LOS ANGELES: Nikola Jokic was far from his usual dominant self while mired in foul trouble, and Jamal Murray cooled off after his scorching first half. The Denver Nuggets鈥� big early lead disappeared entirely in the fourth quarter of Game 3, and the Lakers鈥� home crowd was in a frenzy.

The Nuggets weathered every setback and calmly, methodically took control with a poise worthy of champions.

With one more victory, they鈥檒l finally get the chance to play for their first rings.

Murray scored 37 points, Jokic added 24 points and eight assists and the Nuggets rolled to a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals with a 119-108 victory over Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half against his former team for the top-seeded Nuggets, who have never been this close to the NBA Finals in 47 years in the league. Denver are making their fifth straight playoff appearance, and the ultimate stage is now just one win away.

鈥淚 learn a lot about this team every time we play,鈥� Caldwell-Pope said. 鈥淲e have that dog mentality where no matter if we鈥檙e up, down, we鈥檙e going to continue to fight and play our game, and do it at a high level. We鈥檙e going to continue to do that for the rest of these games.鈥�

Denver blew a 14-point lead in Game 3, but made a decisive 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to snap the Lakers鈥� nine-game home winning streak since March 26, including seven straight victories since the regular season ended.

鈥淭his group is capable of doing great things, and they believe,鈥� Denver coach Michael Malone said. 鈥淏elief is a very powerful thing.鈥�

No team has rallied from a 3-0 playoff series deficit in NBA history. Game 4 is Monday night in Los Angeles.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to do everything in their power to come back and fight on their home floor,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淲e know it鈥檚 coming, and we鈥檝e just got to stay locked in and know we can do it.鈥�

Anthony Davis had 28 points and 18 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who hadn鈥檛 lost three straight games since early February. Los Angeles鈥� prolonged, desperate surge ever since the trade deadline has finally run out of steam against the powerhouse Nuggets, who have won five consecutive playoff games.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e been at the top of the food chain for a reason, and have a plethora of guys that can hurt you, as was on full display tonight,鈥� Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. 鈥淏ut you know, circumstances are what they are. Difficult, but not impossible.鈥�

LeBron James had 23 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for Los Angeles, hitting three 3-pointers after starting the series 0 for 13 from distance. Austin Reaves added 23 points and seven rebounds, but Rui Hachimura was the only other Lakers scorer to crack double figures with 13 points.

鈥淥ur backs have been against the wall (for) probably about the last two months, maybe more than that since the trade deadline,鈥� Reaves said. 鈥淪winging, throwing punches to fight to get to this opportunity. ... We can either come out Monday and go home, or we can fight for another day. And with the group of guys that we鈥檝e got, I know what that answer will be.鈥�

Jokic鈥檚 streak of four consecutive triple-doubles ended in a fairly quiet game for the two-time MVP, who got his fourth foul in the third quarter. But Murray scored 17 points in a dynamic first quarter following his 23-point fourth quarter two nights ago, and he had 30 points by halftime of Game 3.

Bruce Brown scored 15 points and hit a key 3-pointer down the stretch for the Nuggets before Jokic all but iced it on a 3-pointer with 3:17 to play.

The Lakers鈥� passionate fans turned out in force for the 17-time champion franchise鈥檚 first conference finals games at home since 2010. Los Angeles tried desperately to get back in the series, with James playing 43 minutes after spraining his left ankle in Game 2 on top of his already sore right foot.

But the Nuggets鈥� flight to the coast didn鈥檛 cool off Murray in the slightest: After lighting up the Lakers to close Game 2, the Canadian guard made his first five shots in Game 3 and poured in 17 points in the first quarter 鈥� even while Jokic went scoreless for the second straight quarter.

Murray鈥檚 fourth 3-pointer of the night made him 11 of 13 from the field for 26 points midway through the second quarter, scoring more than half of Denver鈥檚 points at an unbelievable pace. Reaves and Davis kept the Lakers in it, with Reaves racking up 15 points, three assists and three rebounds in the second quarter alone.

Hachimura鈥檚 3-pointer early in the fourth gave the Lakers their first lead since the opening minutes, but the Nuggets took charge again in a rally highlighted by Brown鈥檚 3-pointer with 7:02 to play, after which he taunted the Lakers鈥� bench with Los Angeles鈥� own 鈥淔reeze鈥� 3-point celebration.

D鈥橝ngelo Russell had another rough game for the Lakers, scoring three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes. Russell was the Lakers鈥� biggest addition in their trade deadline transformation, but the point guard has just 21 points in this three-game series.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Aaron Gordon had seven points in 32 minutes. ... Michael Porter Jr. had 14 points and 10 rebounds, capped by a 3-pointer in the final 90 seconds.

Lakers: Backup C Mo Bamba missed his ninth consecutive game with a sore left ankle. The team is hopeful Bamba can play at some point in this series. ... Fans near courtside included Jack Nicholson, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal, Andy Garcia, Dyan Cannon, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale, LA Kings captain Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty, and Khalil Mack, Derwin James and Sebastian Joseph-Day from the Los Angeles Chargers鈥� defense.